Secret Origins Vol 3 4
Supporting Characters: * Bernie Bash * Villains: * Bonnie Harper Other Characters: * * * * Nick Quinzel * Sharon Quinzel * * Locations: * ** *** *** * ** *** Items: * * * Vehicles: * | StoryTitle2 = Green Arrow | Synopsis2 = Since a young age, Oliver Queen felt the pressure of what he had been born into. His father, Robert had been a great man, and Seattle had been in the palm of his hand. If Robert Queen had been Seattle's king, then Oliver was its prince. When he was a boy, Oliver spent a morning building ramps to do jumps on his bike, but when he failed to make the jump and hurt himself he crumpled, telling his father he couldn't do it. Robert couldn't stand to see his son's efforts go to waste and reminded that life is pain, and that is what makes people stronger. He was never to give up, and never to stop fighting. Oliver learned not to be a quitter. He had many opportunities as he grew older, and seized them all, excelling in academics and any other pursuit his father pushed him to. While he may not have liked everything he tried, he was a natural. Even so, he never really fit the role he'd been cast to from birth. He fought his natural gifts, and rejected his father's legacy, growing more independent and butting heads with Robert in the company boardroom constantly. In order to anger his father, Oliver began to let opportunities pass him by, and coasted by on his name and fortune. He squandered his gifts, and let his talents grow rusty. While partying on one of his father's oil rigs, some of Robert Queen's enemies sought to strike at Queen Industries through Oliver. They attacked the rig and it was Oliver's own folly that got him knocked into the water, and stranded on a desert isle. For the first time in his life, Oliver was free from his father's expectations. He treated the island as a crucible, knowing that if he could survive there, he could become something better. However, he did not realize that he wasn't alone on the island. He was captured by mercenaries who tortured him, and as they did, he realized that he could either die there, or be reborn. He broke free and escaped his captors and killing their leader, remembering his father's warnings that the Queens never quit, and never give up fighting. However, even as he fought, he began to wonder what he was really fighting for. When a ship appeared on the horizon, he flagged it, and was soon on his way home. After everything he'd survived, though, the modern world held nothing for him. He had learned to be a hunter, and he couldn't shake that identity off. So, he became the Green Arrow. That entity, however, necessarily belonged to the night. By day, he had to keep up the very role his father had desperately wanted him to play at Queen Industries. He unveiled QCorp; a cutting-edge technological subsidiary, funding his own secret war on crime with the profits and the help of John Diggle and Naomi Singh. Even now, years later, Oliver still protects Seattle, one arrow at a time. | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Villains: * * Other Characters: * * * * * Locations: * * ** *** *** Items: * Vehicles: * | StoryTitle3 = A Boy's Life | Synopsis3 = After Batman died, his son Damian could no longer stand by and watch Gotham City deteriorate without him. Against Alfred Pennyworth's wishes, he went out on patrol, ignoring all of his warden's communiqués, as he brutally beat down on Gotham's thugs - a boy of only ten. Annoyed, Alfred enlisted Nightwing to persuade Damian to listen to reason, and keep his emotions in check. Dick knew little about the boy, and tried to beg off the task, but Alfred insisted, filling him in on the boy's history. Due to a lapse in Batman's judgment, he and Talia al Ghul fell into what he had thought was love. It had turned out that she was using him. It was a truce in a long drawn out war that would see the Wayne and al Ghul bloodlines merged. Batman had failed to foresee that a son would come of it. Talia raised Damian alone and indoctrinated him with the ideology of the League of Assassins. However, it soon became clear to Talia that if Damian was to become all that she expected of him, he would have to be trained by the best of the best and exposed to a multitude of experiences. It came to pass, eventually, that Talia felt it was time to introduce him to his father. Both Bruce and Alfred had found Damian to be quite unlikable, though he sought his father's approval - and found it was not easily granted. Just as the pair were finally beginning to connect, Batman was gone. Educated, Dick caught up with Damian in the sewer, noticing that the boy certainly didn't need his help in defeating even the dangerous Killer Croc. Damian had known Dick was watching him all night, and scoffed at the idea that he would kill rather than merely maiming. Even so, Dick had come for more than just to babysit. He delivered a message from Alfred explaining that something had been left at the Batcave for Damian from Batman. At the cave, Alfred passed Damian a letter from his father with instructions and an affirmation that Damian had earned what was to come. Following the directions, Damian discovered a Robin uniform, just for him. Pleased, Damian put it on and prepared to go out on patrol with Dick in the role of Batman. Little did Damian known that the letter was written by Alfred, who had engineered the situation because Gotham would always need a Batman and a Robin. | Appearing3 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * * * Villains: * ** ** * * Other Characters: * Locations: * ** Items: * Vehicles: * * | Notes = * "A Boy's Life" is reprinted in the collection. | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = }}